The machines are used for cutting paper, felt, vinyl, fabric[2] and other materials such as leather, matboard, and wood.
The Cricut operates as a paper cutter based upon cutting parameters programmed into the machine, and resembles a desktop printer.
[5] While some cartridges are generic in content, Cricut has licensing agreements with Disney, Pixar, Nickelodeon, Sesame Street, DC Comics and Hello Kitty.
[7] Cricut now offers heat presses and accessories for a variety of applications ranging from personal projects to commercial use.
Both models boast 4 points of articulation, a 95 Color Rendering Index (CRI), adjustable brightness up to 1500 lux (table lamp) and 3000 lux (floor lamp), and light color temperature from warm to cool white.
It also enables the user to view the images displayed on-screen before beginning the cutting process, so the result can be seen in advance.
Users of "legacy" machines were offered a discount to update to models compatible with Design Space.
[14] Provo Craft has been actively hostile to the use of third-party software programs that could enable Cricut owners to cut out designs and to use the machine without depending on its proprietary cartridges.
Provo Craft asserted that this was likely "to cause confusion, mistake or deception as to the source or origin of Defendant's goods or services, and [was] likely to falsely suggest a sponsorship, connection, license, or association of Defendant's goods and services with Provo Craft".
Because the Cricut machines are dependent on Design Space, Cricut's proprietary cloud-based image service, to upload and work with user-generated content, this change would effectively have required its customers to purchase a monthly subscription to use their machines past the most basic of use-cases.
The announcement was criticized by users at the company's unofficial subreddit and other mediums, as people saw it as a form of vendor lock-in.
News organizations soon picked up on the story and began reporting about the imposed subscription requirement, causing further uproar.